Here we are for the 1999 installment of Road Wild. The main attraction is a career vs. career match between WCW World Champion Hulk Hogan and Kevin Nash. Two men who helped turn WCW around, and arguably helped the downturn, squaring off where only one career shall continue. The build for Nash vs. Hogan has been surprisingly enjoyable, but they could have probably dragged it out a little longer for a more impactful PPV match.
Harlem Heat are challenging for the WCW Tag Team Championships for the first time since the June 15h, 1998 episode of Nitro where they lost to Kevin Nash and Sting. I’m interested in a Harlem Heat reunion, but I also don’t want this to derail Booker T’s upward mobility.
The match I’m most looking forward to in terms of match quality is WCW United States Champion Chris Benoit defending against Diamond Dallas Page. The Triad has been the most entertaining act on TV for a few months now and have actually made DDP into a character I wouldn’t mind seeing in the main event scene. Plus, they had some good matches in 1998, so why not in 1999, as well?
Of course, this show also features Dennis Rodman’s in-ring return to WCW facing Randy Savage. So, there’s that.
Lastly, Fit Finlay fighting a member of the First Family has been dropped due to Finlay’s injury. Also, a match between Madusa and Mona is not happening due to Madusa suffering an injury, as well.
AUGUST 14TH — STURGIS, SD — STURGIS RALLY AND RACE
MATCH #1: THE DEADPOOL (VAMPIRO, VIOLENT J & SHAGGY 2 DOPE) VS. EDDIE GUERRERO, BILLY KIDMAN & WCW CRUISERWEIGHT CHAMPION REY MYSTERIO JR.
NOTE: Mysterio did not come out wearing the championship.
FINISH: Kidman pins Shaggy following the Shooting Star Press.
Bob’s Take: It’s a bit weird to see Eddie, Kidman and Mysterio as a unit since they’ve been historically feuding in some capacity for two years prior to this. However, I’m also interested in the idea of them as a trio. It’s a decent match, but it lacked excitement or substantial offense for the most part. I would’ve liked a more fast paced match with better energy, so this felt a little underwhelming. It’s not a bad match, but it was a bit dull for me. 0 for 1
MATCH #2: WCW TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS THE TRIAD (BIGELOW & KANYON) VS. HARLEM HEAT (BOOKER T & STEVIE RAY)
FINISH: Late in the match, DDP tries to get involved, but instead collides with Bigelow allowing Booker T to hit a missile dropkick and Stevie pins Bigelow to win the titles.
Bob’s Take: There was a noticeable energy change when Booker was in the ring competing compared to Stevie. Which, I guess shouldn’t be all that surprising. This was hardly a memorable match as the action was rather limited. I’m sure this taking place outside in August in South Dakota is going to impact in-ring performances. While it’s cool to see Harlem Heat regain the titles, I don’t see this being a long-lasting title run. I’m sure they’ll hot shot the titles back to Triad soon, or maybe to the Deadpool or Rednecks in the coming weeks. This wasn’t an entertaining match, though. 0 for 2
MATCH #3: THE REVOLUTION (MALENKO, SATURN & DOUGLAS) VS. WEST TEXAS REDNECKS (HENNIG, WINDHAM & DUNCUM JR.)
NOTE: Saturn says they don’t care about Chad Brock, or the cowboys. If they have to get through the cowboys first to make a statement then so be it.
FINISH: Late in the match, Kendall Windham hit Malenko with a cowbell, but Douglas made the save. Saturn hits Duncum Jr. with the Death Valley Driver to win the match.
Bob’s Take: A competitive match that felt like a fight with a bunch of brawling throughout. They didn’t keep it to brawling as it eventually turned into the typical WCW wrestling match. A mostly average match with nothing too exciting throughout. Revolution picking up the win is the right decision if WCW plans on building them up as a powerful force in WCW. However, it’s a forgettable bout safe to say. 0 for 3
MATCH #4: THE CAT VS. BUFF BAGWELL
FINISH: Cat collides with Ono, being hit with a briefcase on the apron allowing Bagwell to pickup the victory with a rollup. After the match, Cat attacks Bagwell.
Bob’s Take: Bagwell had a victory over Flair and Piper in June and July and he’s not elevated whatsoever. I’m sure it doesn’t help that neither Flair or Piper are on TV anymore, so it’s basically pointless to bring it up at this point. This was a bad match. The finish protects Cat, who is getting better and better as a heel. Bagwell’s momentum has stalled quite a bit. 0 for 4
MATCH #5: WCW UNITED STATES CHAMPION CHRIS BENOIT VS. DIAMOND DALLAS PAGE — NO DISQUALIFICATION MATCH
FINISH: Benoit pins DDP following a top rope diving headbutt.
Bob’s Take: It’s been a rough show for the first hour or so, but luckily DDP and Benoit put on an enjoyable match, which is what I had expected would be the case. There wasn’t much used for weapons to take advantage of the stipulation, but they did use the referee’s belt during the bout. The Triad got involved int the match, but the Revolution were seen just watching on a monitor and not helping Benoit, which seemed a bit weird. It’s a good match, but they’ve done better in the past. I guess Benoit can brag that he didn’t need help in order to overcome the Triad. 1 for 5
MATCH #6: STING VS. SID VICIOUS
FINISH: Sid catches Sting on a third splash attempt in the corner to deliver a chokeslam and cleanly pins Sting to win the match.
Bob’s Take: They have a formula match between each other, and I think they effectively put together an entertaining match. It’s not a must-see bout, but it is an entertaining match. Sid getting a clean win is a big victory and it not only lines up with an obvious showdown with Goldberg, but makes him a likely challenger to the WCW World Championship should Hogan retain the title. 2 for 6
MATCH #7: GOLDBERG VS. WCW TELEVISION CHAMPION RICK STEINER — NON-TITLE
FINISH: Goldberg hits the spear and jackhammer to finish off Steiner.
Bob’s Take: Throughout the match, Steiner used Goldberg’s knee brace on him to get an extended beating. Of course, that just delayed the inevitable. The crowd didn’t seem to care about Steiner’s offense, and nor did I. The audience always just wants to see the spear and jackhammer, and that’s what got the crowd reaction. Aside from the finish, there wasn’t anything exciting about this bout and Steiner needs to remain in the midcard. 2 for 7
MATCH #8: RANDY SAVAGE VS. DENNIS RODMAN — HARDCORE MATCH
NOTE: Rodman cut a promo asking “where my b**** at?” which is in reference to Gorgeous George. Savage said Rodman will be his tonight.
FINISH: Late in the match, Gorgeous George came out to the ring and gave Savage a chain. George low blows Rodman. Savage hits Rodman with the chain to win the match.
Bob’s Take: This is such a weird match. It’s such a sad attempt to get national attention, but the whole point of Rodman’s aura is that he’s an athlete whose is reckless on the court, but he’s not an active NBA player anymore. So, now he’s just Dennis Rodman. Since it is a hardcore match it’s all smoke and mirrors with virtually zero actual professional wrestling. I mean, that can’t be a surprise to anyone. Tuning into this and expecting wrestling would have been silly. At one point, Savage tipped over a potter potty with Rodman inside. George’s involvement was a bit of a surprise, but clearly she’s aligned with Savage. I’m assuming Rodman didn’t take the elbow drop since Savage has been routinely hurting wrestlers with the finishing move. I would consider this entertaining the spectacle that it was. It honestly flew by compared to everything before it. So, I’ll give it a positive grade, but it’s not a good match. 3 for 8
MAIN EVENT: WCW WORLD CHAMPION HULK HOGAN VS. KEVIN NASH — CAREER VS. CAREER MATCH
FINISH: Hogan delivers a big boot and leg drop to pin Nash to retain the title. Nash as a result must retire from the business.
Bob’s Take: The way they worked this match you could have told me it was 1985 WWF house show and I would have believed you. This is a glaring issue with WCW in 1999 and why they are so far behind the WWF at this point. The main event scene is so much more exciting and not such a slow paced match. It’s only going to get worse in that regard, too. In typical fashion, Hogan kicked out of the Jackknife and within a short time later Hogan hit the leg drop to win the match. This is the same routine that annoyed fans in 1995 and early 1996. Just wait until Hogan does this routine to someone beloved in WCW. They’ll be right back in the same position. This was shorter than Rodman/Savage, but felt like it took double the amount of time to get through. I am not looking forward to red and yellow Hogan as champion if this is the routine we’re going with. 3 for 9
I wasn’t expecting some great show here, but I was hoping for something a bit better than what we got. The crowd has always been mostly disinterested in whatever WCW brought to the rally. I thought WCW had built most of the matches fairly well, but in this environment they may have been destined for failure regardless.
Coming out of Road Wild, I think we’re likely going to get a Sid vs. Hogan showdown. Sid is riding momentum, but they might not do a PPV because of his self-proclaimed undefeated streak. Sting doesn’t seem to have an immediate opponent lined up at it stands right now.
There doesn’t seem to be a lot to get excited about right now for WCW.
Road Wild 1999 Buy-rate: 235,000 (0.54) This is the highest buy-rate they’d ever have until their demise.
Thanks for reading.